Tag: American Civil Liberties Union

One of the many uncomfortable realities that we all are increasingly obliged to accept, at least on a practical level, is that the many gadgets that power our personal and professional lives can’t ever be fully shielded from prying eyes.

A Kentucky law requires residents and government officials to affirm the existence of an almighty, protective God via a series of plaques installed outside the state Homeland Security building, with a penalty of up to 12 months in prison for failure to comply.

The Senate is moving to renew the soon-to-expire 2008 amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which authorized the U.S. government to monitor American citizens’ emails and telephone calls without a warrant. Former National Security Agency Director William Binney has warned that its vast data mining program, which operates under the amendments, could “create an Orwellian state.”

Over a pair of steaming coffee cups, I was told that a secret faction has developed within New York City’s Occupy movement, made up of big-name celebrities and would-be leaders, some of whom look determined to steer the movement in a direction of their choosing.

Since last summer, applicants for government assistance in Florida have been required to pass a drug test before receiving federal help, but on Monday a federal judge temporarily blocked that measure in response to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU.

The ACLU has demanded the resignation of Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca after the civil rights organization issued a report that he had willfully ignored a growing culture of violence and abuse by jail deputies against inmates. (more)